Human
by BrutusXEnobaria
Summary: Enobaria isn't just the vicious killing machine who won by ripping off her last opponent's throat. She's more than that. She's human. BrutusXEnobaria


**HUMAN**

_I can hold my breath_

"Are you ready?" Brutus asked Enobaria. She nodded. She was more than ready. She's been waiting for this moment all her life. All that training and hard work was finally going to pay off. All she had to do was survive an arena with twenty-three other children. Simple as that.

She stepped into the large glass pipe and prepared herself. She could do this, Brutus never doubted her. "I'll see you in a couple weeks," she playfully told her mentor. Enobaria looked at her token, a platinum bracelet with a small rock, a number two, and a small sword on it.

The small rock represents her district, masonry. The number two represents her lucky number, two. The small sword represents her skill, her reason for volunteering.

She began to rise and the last thing she did was take a deep breath and hold it until she came to view with the arena.

_I can bite my tongue_

Enobaria waited with Brutus along the wings of the stage for her interview. She did it; she won the games. But at what price?

"Knock 'em dead," he said. She held tightly onto his hand. When her name was called, she put on her victorious face and came out onto the stage with a confident look.

Caesar kissed her hand and they both settled down on the plush seats. "Well, well, well. You won! It is so amazing that a little skilled fifteen year old won her games, isn't it?" Loud screams from the audience were heard. "Now, tell me. That was quite some victory. Interesting, in fact. What was it like? Facing your last opponent weaponless?"

Enobaria thought about her answer before saying anything. She had to be careful now; she was on their radar. "It was challenging, of course. But I guess I used the first thing that came up to my mind and now here I am."

"Here you are," Caesar repeated. "Let's take a look at your kills, shall we?"

Enobaria fixated her eyes on the screen. She watched all seven of her kills. Living them was worse than seeing them on the screen in front of everyone. The whole time she bit her tongue.

_I can stay awake for days_

_If that's what you want_

Enobaria awoke from yet another nightmare, sweat coming down her forehead. It's been a few days since her victory and life wasn't at all how she thought it would be. She didn't think her kills would be haunting her all night.

Hoping to shake off the cold sweat, she took a warm bath. She lied there, looking at absolutely nothing. She was lost; she didn't know what to do. No amount of training prepared her for her life after she won. Enobaria already had a major headache and the warm water wasn't helping at all. She stood up and got out the bathtub before stumbling a little.

Suddenly, she felt hands steady her.

"Easy," the voice said. Enobaria couldn't focus on who it was, but she had a strong sense that it was Brutus. He helped her get out of the tub safely before he wrapped a towel around her shaking body. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. But I heard you screaming." She tightly wrapped the towel around her body. "I should probably g - "

She quickly brought herself into his strong arms, hoping to feel any form of safety. Brutus was surprised at first, but then he wrapped his arms around her in a protective hug. "Don't go."

"I won't leave," he assured her. She looked into his eyes without breaking the hug. "Why don't we just stay awake tonight, hm?"

_Be your number one_

Enobaria sighed as she saw herself on the cover of the capitol magazine. Since her famous victory, she had taken on the title of Capitol Darling. Everyone loved their new victor. What's not to love? She was young, beautiful, skilled.

She was their number one victor.

_I can fake a smile_

"Enobaria! Smile for the camera!" a photographer pleaded before taking a picture with unnecessary flash that practically blinded her.

"Show us those golden babies!" screamed a fan.

Having to please her admirers, she gave them one simple, gold-fanged smile for them to take in. The crowd screamed for more and photographers shoved their way to the front to be able to get a glimpse of her teeth. Brutus, of course, made them keep their distance from her by bringing up his fist. He was always protective of her, he didn't know why. Neither did Enobaria, but she didn't argue.

Enobaria was forced to alter her teeth by President Snow. That meant they were sharpened and inlaid with gold to represent her famous victory. Since then, the number of fans went up the ranks.

She hated her new teeth. But the screaming of her fans proved that they loved it. Even though it made her look more intimidating, they still loved it when she smiled.

_I can force a laugh_

"Well, tell me how it feels," Caesar asked Enobaria in front of the crowd. "It's your first year mentoring and sadly, your little tribute died."

She didn't die, she was killed. Enobaria didn't think that losing a tribute would be as bad as she thought. Now she has to carry the fact that she couldn't save her tribute and bring her home. She would have to face the shameful faces of the families.

Enobaria glanced at Brutus who was watching from one of the wings. She turned her attention back to Caesar and decided to give them a good show. "It was… Unexpected to have her die. Of course, being my first year, I couldn't have my hopes high." But she did have her high hopes on her tribute.

"And now you'll have to go back home and face the families," Caesar said with a planted grin on his plastic face.

_Does this man have no sense of empathy? Does he not know that we victors have feelings?_

She gave a small laugh thinking of what she was going to do. "Oh, Caesar. Why don't you stop asking questions about my job and actually do it so that you know what it feels like to fail?"

She stood up and left the stage without being dismissed.

_I can dance and play the part_

_If that's what you ask_

_Give you all of me_

Enobaria was shaking. She was terrified. No amount of training could help her survive her first night of being sold as a whore.

She was so young, only fifteen. But that's what happens when you're fifteen, and pretty, and desirable. She was about to lose the one thing the games didn't take from her.

Enobaria slowly undressed and turned around to see the middle-aged Capitol man eyeing her with hungry eyes. He grabbed her arm – she winced at his touch – and took her to his bed where he would violate her.

That night, he made her bleed.

_I can do it_

_I can do it_

_ I can do it_

_But I'm only human_

_And I bleed when I fall down_

_I'm only human_

_And I crash and I break down_

_Your words in my head, knives in my heart_

_You build me up, and then I fall apart_

_'Cause I'm only human_

_I can turn it on_

Enobaria and Brutus left their apartment in the Capitol. District Two lost this year, once again. It was painful, not being able to bring a tribute safely home.

The minute they were spotted heading to the train station, they were swarmed with fans and paparazzi. They were all craving to know about the new victor couple from District Two. Brutus and Enobaria tried to keep it under secrecy, but President Snow could see the signs.

And being victors, they had to deliver. They had to give them what they wanted.

Before boarding the train, Brutus and Enobaria shared a kiss for the fans and paparazzi. The crowd went wild. Some were screaming of joy, others were crying because their favorite victor was no longer available.

As much as they hated it, they had to keep up their reputation as victors. They had to please the Capitol people, even if it meant revealing their personal lives.

_Be a good machine_

Victors were always feared; always treated differently. It was family, friends, or even strangers. It was also the little children. And Victors were feared because they were all killing machines. The recorded tapes of the past games were proof of it.

_I can hold the weight of worlds_

_If that's what you need_

It was devastating when a mentor couldn't bring home their tributes and then have to show their corpses to the upset families. It was never an easy job having to mentor children for the games.

Some victors – the ones that went nuts – slacked off their jobs. Some victors weren't sane enough to mentor at all. But Enobaria and Brutus took their job seriously, even if it meant failing. At least they tried.

Sure, it was a lot of work and commitment, but they'd rather try and fail than not try at all.

_Be your everything_

"Enobaria, please tell me what's wrong." Brutus, who was lying next to Enobaria on the bed, rubbing her back. He hated seeing her like this – when she would close up and not talk at all. It made him feel useless. "I want to help."

"Promise me you won't leave me," Enobaria whispered. "You're all I have left and I don't want to lose you."

It was true. Everything Enobaria loved was taken away from her, just because she was a victor. Her father was dead before she went into the games, her mother and brother were killed because Enobaria refused to be a prostitute, but President Snow somehow managed to make her do it anyway.

That was the price of winning.

"I won't ever leave you," Brutus promised. "And you're all I have left." He kissed her shoulder. "We're each other's everything. And nothing is ever going to change that."

_I can do it_

_I can do it_

_I'll get through it_

_But I'm only human_

_And I bleed when I fall down_

_I'm only human_

_And I crash and I break down_

_Your words in my head, knives in my heart_

_You build me up, and then I fall apart_

_'Cause I'm only human_

_I'm only human_

_I'm only human_

_Just a little human_

_I can take so much_

"And now we honor out Third Quarter Quell. On the seventy-fifth anniversary , as a reminder to the rebels that not even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors."

_Until I've had enough_

Enobaria was boiling with fury. After all she's done; this is how she gets paid. She quickly stood up and went on a wild rampage, smashing and breaking whatever stood in her path.

_'Cause I'm only human_

_And I bleed when I fall down_

She was no longer a victor, she was a tribute. The title of a victor didn't belong to her or any other victor anymore. She broke her victor's crown.

Fuck the Capitol.

_I'm only human_

_And I crash and I break down_

The Capitol turned her into a monster. She stared at herself in the mirror and showed her golden teeth before smashing the mirror. Red blood began to leak out of her knuckles.

Fuck the Capitol.

_Your words in my head_

_Knives in my heart_

Enobaria no longer owed them anything. She paid her debt as a mentor for her District. She burned her mentor's uniform.

Fuck the Capitol.

_You build me up and then I fall apart_

Now Enobaria was going to lose the one thing she cared about – Brutus. The one person who loved her no matter how screwed up she was.

Fuck the damn Capitol.

_ 'Cause I'm only human_

**THE END**


End file.
